I don’t want to be an entrepreneur

Not so long ago I was returning to Australia from living and working in London and feeling like this would be the perfect time to try something new, different and potentially risky. I had no real assets but also no debt, no job, no lease and all of my belongings were already boxed up. 5 days after landing back in Brisbane I attended a full day seminar geared toward future start-ups and budding entrepreneurs.

Very quickly after the seminar commenced I realised I did not possess the required entrepreneurial qualities to go it alone and be my own boss. I wasn’t surprised to have this realisation, but I was hoping that the flashy speakers, free cold-pressed juices, and audience full of bloggers, might have sparked something in me that would make me think that my usually cautious, methodical, and occasionally lazy ways could somehow work well as the founder of a company.

What this day did spark in me was that I was so passionate about passionate people with clear visions, strong values and a big drive to make a difference. Every time a speaker got up to talk about their business, I wanted to work for them! These people were incredibly hard workers, they valued their staff and were so clear on their ‘why’.

On that day I decided that it didn’t matter what job I was going to be doing in a ‘start-up’, I just had to be a part of it. Ridiculously, it was only about a month later that I found a way to combine this desire, with my existing experience in HR when I came across the advertisement for the role at wattsnext. While wattsnext isn’t a start up by any means, it is a youthful, dynamic, fun business that pushes the boundaries of the norm – and we have stand up desks and a disco ball!

I get so much personal value from being a part of an organisation that has a very clear (awesome) mission, a vision I would be proud to achieve and values that I aspire to live by every day. And not only that, but I get to work with so many small to medium businesses who are in the same position, and for some of these clients we even get to help them articulate what their vision, mission and values are, and to use these as really valuable tools within their business.

Building a start-up and being an entrepreneur is all the rage these days and it seems like if you aren’t wanting to break off and do your own thing that you must be lacking in motivation or have no real vision of your own. But we can’t all be Founders. Some of these legitimate entrepreneurs and incredible business owners need people to lead, they need people who believe in them to help them achieve their huge visions. I’ve realised I don’t need to be an entrepreneur to feel like I am having an impact!